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BISMARCK — A judge has dismissed a lawsuit that sought to end North Dakota's membership in a multistate group that develops tests aligned with the Common Core education standards, but the state is withdrawing anyway as it prepares to adopt revised academic standards and testing to match.

BISMARCK – Less than six years after North Dakota residents voted to sock away oil and gas tax collections for future generations, the Legacy Fund has topped $4 billion in value, a “phenomenal” feat the state’s chief investment officer said speaks to the state’s fiscal conservatism.

NEAR CANNON BALL, N.D. — For camp leader Everett Iron Eyes Sr., the sea of tents, teepees and vehicles dotting the landscape along the Cannonball River represents a concerned people expressing their free speech rights to stop a crude oil pipeline they fear will spoil their water supply and disturb sacred sites.

BISMARCK — A ballot measure aimed at expanding the rights of North Dakota crime victims and listing them in the state constitution would cost taxpayers nearly $2 million per year, according to an estimate presented to lawmakers Thursday. Marsy's Law for North Dakota spokeswoman Lacee Anderson disagreed with the fiscal note, saying it wrongly assumes all crime victims will opt for notification services. "It assumes there's going to be more people signing up, which we haven't seen in other states," she said.

BISMARCK — Despite more than $1 billion in agency budget cuts and planned fund transfers, North Dakota's general fund budget is still on track to end the biennium with a negative balance, the state's budget director said Thursday, Sept. 29.

BISMARCK – The North Dakota Department of Health’s public information director has resigned over comments she inadvertently posted from the department’s official Twitter account during the first U.S. presidential debate, calling it a “dreadful mistake.” Colleen Reinke offered her resignation immediately after the incident Monday, Sept. 26, and it was accepted as of 8 a.m. Wednesday, according to emails provided by Human Resources Director Dirk Wilke in response to an open records request.

BISMARCK — Opponents of a North Dakota ballot measure that would expand crime victims' rights and write them into the state constitution have formed a campaign committee chaired by former attorney general and district judge Robert Wefald of Bismarck. "This is simply bad constitutional law," Wefald said Wednesday, Sept. 21, at a Capitol press conference announcing the "No on 3" committee. The group opposes Marsy's Law for North Dakota, which will be listed as Measure 3 on the Nov. 8 statewide ballot.

BISMARCK — A panel chaired by Gov. Jack Dalrymple voted Wednesday, Sept. 21, to borrow up to $6 million from the state-owned Bank of North Dakota to support policing efforts related to the Dakota Access Pipeline protests, but not before members blasted the federal government for not providing more support. "I know we have to do it, but it's not right, and the lack of federal involvement is disgusting," House Majority Leader Al Carlson said before the six-member Emergency Commission unanimously approved the line of credit.

BISMARCK – The state Emergency Commission voted Wednesday, Sept. 21, to borrow up to $6 million from the state-owned Bank of North Dakota to support law enforcement efforts related to the Dakota Access Pipeline protests, but not before members blasted the lack of federal support to deal with protesters camped out on federal land.

BISMARCK – Standing Rock Sioux Tribe Chairman Dave Archambault II on Tuesday, Sept. 20, brought the fight against the Dakota Access Pipeline to Geneva, Switzerland, asking members of the United Nations Human Rights Commission to condemn “the deliberate destruction of our sacred places.” Archambault told the commission the 1,172-mile, $3.8 billion pipeline that would move 450,000 barrels of crude daily from the Bakken oil fields to a hub in Illinois “threatens our communities, the river and the earth.”